The so-called Pittsburg 6 broke a story in March that questioned the credentials of a woman hired as Pittsburg High School principal, leading to her resignation. (Submitted)

Though Pittsburg High School’s spring semester concluded last Thursday, for the so-called Pittsburg 6 — who two months ago published a story that questioned the credentials of the school’s then incoming principal — a sense of tension lingers as they contend the district hasn’t been held accountable for the hiring debacle.

“We did our job and need district officials to take responsibility, but the matter has been swept under the rug,” the young journalists wrote in a May 19 editorial of Pittsburg High School’s newspaper The Booster Redux.

On March 31, the student newspaper ran a story about newly hired principal Amy Robertson. Four days later, the school board accepted her resignation.

“It showed them that you can have an impact and be a catalyst for change,” said Emily Smith, the newspaper’s adviser.

The story revealed concerns about Robertson’s education and experience. The student journalists discovered that the university Robertson reported receiving a master’s degree and Ph.D. is considered a diploma mill and isn’t accredited with the U.S. Department of Education. There also was scant information about the education consulting company Robertson was most recently employed with in Dubai. Though they raised their concerns about Robertson to administrators prior to running the story, they were dismissed.

Kali Poenitske, now a senior, said publishing the story was an exciting and nervous experience for her. The goal wasn’t to get anyone fired, but to look into the hiring process a little more, she said.

Smith said at one point they had discussions, some involving the students’ parents, about whether to publish the piece or not. Those involved concerns about potential retaliation from the school and the wider community. Ultimately they decided it was important for people to read and know what they had found.

The student journalists’ work and the resulting resignation garnered national attention.

“It was so overwhelming,” said Poenitske. “It was so awesome.”

For weeks they fielded calls from national outlets such as The New York Times. The six were invited to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner by the Huffington Post. Smith and Eric Thomas, the executive director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, who advised on the story, also went. In addition to the April 29 dinner, the group toured The Washington Post and the Newseum.

“It’s been quite the journey for them,” Smith said. “I’m incredibly proud of the kids and I think they have done an amazing job and remained poised and professional.”

Despite the positive press nationally, Smith said within Pittburg, the community is divided. Most think what the students did was for the good of the school and they represented the school well. Others, however, believe the students went too far, made the school look bad and shouldn’t be celebrated, Smith said.

When they returned to Kansas after the trip to D.C., Poenitske said the group discussed the next step and decided on an editorial.

In the May 19 article, the Pittburg 6 wrote, “Superintendent Destry Brown supported hiring Amy Robertson despite our findings, and the USD 250 Board of Education has failed to hold him accountable.”

It went on to say, “We trusted our district leaders to follow through, but that trust was broken.”

The kids were disappointed that Brown didn’t acknowledge their work, Smith said. It sent the message to the community that the district doesn’t stand behind the kids.

There’s not a real resolution to all of this yet, she said, adding that a fear of retribution still exists for the students.

The school board did recognize the students’ story in an April 7 statement.

“We thank the students of The Booster Redux for the role they played in bringing this situation to light,” the board wrote. “We admire both their original reporting and the manner in which they have handled the national attention their story has earned.”

Thomas said the original story and the editorial “reveals the importance of today’s student journalism.”

Poenitske said the past couple months have prompted her to reconsider journalism as a career path.

The school board said it was reviewing hiring procedures and on May 23, the district announced the hiring of Paola High School principal Phil Bressler.

“Bressler was selected after being interviewed by students and staff and was one of two top candidates, in which all candidates for this position were vetted by the Kansas Association of School Boards,” the district said in a news release.

Poenitske said the students plan on interviewing Bressler for the August edition of The Booster Redux.

Brown didn’t respond to a request for comments from The Capital-Journal.